Field of the Invention
This invention relates to gloves for the human hand and more particularly relates to a glove having tapered finger sections to accommodate the anatomical structure and natural movement of rotation at the proximal interphalangeal joints of the fingers.
Glove construction for protection of the human hand is well known. Particularly, gloves are made to both protect the hand in the environment in which the user is going to be active, that being, for example, work, play, such as baseball, hockey and the like, as well as to protect the wearer when exposed to frigid temperatures. In the manufacture of gloves, it has been a tendency to assume that each finger section is straight and that fingers are anatomically straight and in parallel with each other. Thus, gloves are made with straight finger sections and the finger sections are generally in parallel. That is, when basic glove patterns are cut, they are done so with the finger sections cut to be relatively straight and in parallel. However, in the anatomy of the hands, particularly the fingers, there is a natural tendency of the four fingers, (index, long, ring, and small) to point towards the scaphoid bone in the wrist when the fingers are in flexion. In order words, the long axes of the fingers tend to converge near the wrist when they are closed in a fist. This convergence is secondary to the natural adduction of about 5xc2x0 and the rotation of about 9xc2x0 that occurs at the proximal interphalangeal joints of the fingers. These joints do not only function as a hinge joint, but there is also a component of rotation that occurs with joint flexion. This convergence is the motion of the joint towards the midline and the midline can be simply described as an imaginary line between the long and ring fingers. Each finger tends to lean approximately 5xc2x0 towards this midline, especially with joint flexion. Thus, coupled with the natural rotation of the fingers which also occurs with flexion determines that the fingers tend to point to the same area on the wrist, namely, the scaphoid.
It is an object of the present invention to provide gloves and patterns for gloves that allow for the natural adduction and rotation that occurs with finger flexion.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a glove having finger sections therein to allow rotation of the finger naturally when the fingers are in a hand closure condition.
It is even another object of the present invention to provide gloves with finger sections which are at an angle of between 5xc2x0 and 9xc2x0 at the proximal interphalangeal joints.
More particularly, the present invention provides a glove for a human hand with separated elongated sections to receive a plurality of fingers and a thumb therein. The glove includes a covering having a top portion for covering a back side of the hand, including a top side of the elongated sections to receive a plurality of fingers and a lower portion to cover a palmar side of the hand which includes a bottom side of the elongated sections to receive the plurality of fingers therein. The elongated sections include an index finger section, a long finger section, a ring finger section, and a small finger section. The covering has a first longitudinal axis between the long finger section and the ring finger section wherein the covering for each of the finger sections is angled toward the longitudinal axis.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts into several views.